I rarely commit to any weight loss plan. I have no other option but to follow this plan for
Life. 24 + years of binge eating and bulimia along with a normal imbalance have led to a lifetime of struggles with my weight and eating habits.

I started yesterday and went from feeling uncomfortable From
Full after dinner to really hungry and craving more food within an hour. I didn’t give in. But woke up at 6 and couldn’t get back to sleep so had my breakfast early when I usually eat it around 1pm.

Hi Babybird - I am not sure why your appetite swings like that, but here are a couple of things that might contribute

are you eating a balanced meal with enough fat, carbs & protein. I find that protein helps keep hunger at bay, and a high carb meal without any fat doesn't last very long

are you overstimulating the stretch receptors in your stomach by having too much volume from liquids or vegies? That can lead to uncomfortable
feelings of fullness. If at the same time your meal didn't contain enough calories or fat or protein, that might help explain why you then feel hungry
a short time later. I also suspect from my own experience that there might be a rebound effect from overstretching the stomach which might feel like hunger. However, I am guessing here.

I would like to gently suggest that unless you have a pressing medical problem or some other good reason, that you concentrate on eating 3 reasonable meals per day until your eating settles down. You might lose weight anyway, and permanent weight loss will be a lot easier once you have established regular eating pattern. It has been for me.

Welcome back! I remembered the name from years ago (actually didn't realize it was that long ago- part of being old) and went back to look at your thread. Yes, it has been a struggle, and I'm very glad to read that you say you I HAVE NO OTHER OPTION BUT TO FOLLOW THIS PLAN FOR LIFE. But now it sounds like you are very upset over some actually quite normal reactions to changing your food habits. There are many explanations for why a person might have variations in her perceptions of the desire for food. One explanation is that it has nothing to do with what you've actually eaten, but just the bias in the brain to keep access to calorie dense food. It's natural, not a sign of a flaw. It was a useful bias when food was scarce, but it's mismatched for the modern, low-satiety food-rich environment and it takes time to work around it. It might sound weird to say, but when that bias in the brain _ I call it the weight defender- gets any hint that another part- in this case, the prefrontal cortex- is deciding to do anything to limit the food, oh, the tactics it will use to make you want to eat! It will fight because it thinks it's saving your life. You have to teach it that it's not necessary. (Having regular meals over time helps.) Expecting never to want to eat when it's not time to is quite a high expectation and will make you think you're failing when you might actually be making a lot of progress. I believe even people who are pretty established on No S sometimes get food whims, but they are just so used to ignoring them and moving on that they hardly realize it. Even Reinhard has said (it's been awhile) that when he was sometimes taking care of his kids for long periods of time, he felt like chowing down. It's just old patterns. Learning to ride the wave of desire up and down the other side is a matter of practice and experimenting in a calm- as much as is possible at any one moment- and curious way to discover the meals that work best. It won't always feel calm and curious, but it's kind of an umbrella thought to use. It's tempting to want it all to go easily and all the struggle to be over just because we commit. It's pretty famous in the diet world that anticipating how wonderful it's going to be can make us heady. It's how diet books are sold. It's actually how just about everything is sold!

I wish I could say that it was all going to be easy, you'll just breezily never want food unless it's time to eat, etc. But the odds are against that. And this program is still doable! In fact, as you said, you have no other option. Believing that can really help. When you feel something is your best option, you're more likely to make the best of the ups and downs- and ups! This has a lot of ups.

I often used a set of steps that are a strategy that is used in OCD treatment very often when I started and along the way. It was very helpful. I can give it to you, if you like. But know that any set of steps are one thing to know about and another to apply over and over. But they have been shown to change brain patterns, and that's what habit is. It's a bit trickier with food, but still applicable and helpful

Don't give up! You have so many wonderful meals ahead!

Last edited by oolala53 on Tue May 19, 2020 2:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Hi Babybird,. Hope you are still with us.
Help with commitment is tough because only you can commit, we can only tell you why we stick with it for. I think of it like this: Eventually it's going to be 2025 or 2035 or 2065. Do I still want to be worrying and fussing about my weight and how I look 5, 15, or 45 years from now? No, I do not. I know this because I don't even want to be worrying and fussing about those things now. So, what's my alternative? Stop worrying and fussing about those things. Easier said than done of course but doable even for folks who struggle with bing eating and/or food disorders but honestly, I don't have much experience with that so I'll leave that topic to those with relavent input. I do know that giving up and moving into the "next best thing" over and over again is a recipe for disappointment and failure Which in turn is a handy excuse to just keep on failing. There is no magic solution to our problems with overeating we can only find a plan that makes sense to us (for me it's "No S" or a close proximity) and then do our best to stick with it. In the beginning that might mean celebrating seemingly miniscule successes but eventually those miniscule successes will build into something significant. . . BUT. . . you have to stick with it long enough to allow them to build.

Hear, hear, gingerpie! I was one of those who DID dicker over it all for nearly 40 years. Couldn't face 20 more years of it full throttle, which doesn't mean it's never a struggle. I hope so much my experience will say some younger women years of misery.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2